Dawnwalker Xanthe Guide: Cycle of Love, Lanterns & Choice
How to navigate Howling Keep, claim the Relic of St. Dasius, stop Xanthe's healing and decide whether to spare her.
Max Xanthe's Court anger to unlock The Cycle of Love, then use blue lanterns on the statues to remove red-vine barriers in Howling Keep. Before the final room, collect the Relic of St. Dasius. In the boss fight, destroy every red blood orb at the two health thresholds, then spare Xanthe if you want fewer supernatural enemies in the final castle sequence.
Major boss and choice spoilers
This guide reveals the Howling Keep puzzle, Xanthe's phases, the optional legendary amulet and the effect of sparing her. Keep a manual save before placing the final two lanterns at the staircase.
The fight and choice consequences have been cross-checked between two launch walkthroughs. Patch-dependent damage values remain outside the confirmed scope.
Unlock and quest facts
Raise Xanthe's anger to maximum through Court Activities. Two soldiers eventually approach Coen and provide Xanthe's Lantern, opening The Cycle of Love at Howling Keep in the south.
The quest reports no fail state, consumes four time segments and awards 500 XP. Drinking Xanthe's blood unlocks Blood Surge, but the post-fight alliance choice changes whether her supernatural forces appear later.
How the lantern puzzle works
Placing a blue lantern on a statue removes nearby red vines and holds the connected route open. The puzzle is about relocating a limited number of lanterns without closing the path behind Coen.
Use the first lantern to enter, collect the movable lanterns from the accessible rooms, and reuse them on the balcony, ground-floor west door and final staircase. In the underground kennel route, take the Key to the Kennels from the glowing body to return to the main hall.
| Checkpoint | Do this before moving on |
|---|---|
| First upper rooms | Collect the movable lantern; read manuals and notes |
| West ground-floor route | Take the lantern in the back room, then use the trapdoor |
| Kennels | Loot the Key to the Kennels from the glowing body |
| West balcony rooms | Collect the Relic of St. Dasius from the left room |
| Final staircase | Place one lantern on each flanking statue |
Do not miss the Relic of St. Dasius
Before opening the final route, climb the west-side stairs and place a lantern on the statue to open two balcony rooms. The left room contains the Legendary Amulet The Relic of St. Dasius on a table.
The amulet is associated with the Arbiter's Armour set. Retrieve the lantern after looting the rooms so it remains available for the final staircase.
How to beat Xanthe
Dodge immediately out of marked ground magic. Her red tentacles attack from left, right or overhead and can be blocked; a Perfect Block interrupts the sequence and creates a counter window.
First remove the yellow bar to expose the white health bar. Crossing each of the two red markers makes Xanthe teleport and create red blood orbs around the arena. Stop attacking the boss and destroy the orbs quickly—anything left becomes healing. This mechanic occurs twice.
| Boss signal | Response |
|---|---|
| Ground hazard | Exit the marked area immediately |
| Red tentacle | Block left, right or overhead; aim for Perfect Block |
| Yellow protection bar | Break it before main-health damage |
| Blood orbs at red marker | Destroy orbs before returning to Xanthe |
Should you spare Xanthe?
The Dark Mistress achievement only requires neutralizing Xanthe, so sparing her after the fight still qualifies. Accepting her help removes supernatural enemies from the later Greifberg Castle sequence, making that portion easier.
Killing her allows Coen to drain her directly for Blood Surge but leaves those enemies in the castle. Launch evidence says Xanthe's blood can also be obtained elsewhere as a consumable, so sparing her does not necessarily make the ability permanently unavailable.
| Choice | Benefit | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Spare and ally | Fewer supernatural enemies in final castle | Cannot drain her directly here |
| Kill and drain | Immediate Blood Surge access | Supernatural enemies remain later |
Frequently asked questions
How do you unlock The Cycle of Love?
Raise Xanthe's Court anger to maximum, then accept the soldiers' request and lantern.
Where is the Relic of St. Dasius?
It is on a table in the left balcony room opened by the west-side lantern statue inside Howling Keep.
How do you stop Xanthe healing?
Destroy the red blood orbs immediately when she spawns them at the two health thresholds.
Should you kill or spare Xanthe?
Sparing her makes the later castle route easier and still earns The Dark Mistress. Killing and draining her gives immediate Blood Surge access.
Facts are linked to first-party publisher, developer, or storefront pages. Launch-watch details remain labeled until an official listing or reproducible retail-build test confirms them.